hi all i am new to programming i was going to pick python as a first language but a lot of people have been trying to talk me out of it. I was also thinking c# and php but cant make my mind up any advise would be greatful thank you

If you go to the c++ forum, chances are most of them will say you should start with c++. If you go to the java forums, chances are most of them will say you should start with java.

Some peoples theories are you should start with a complex language like c++ first and then learn a language like python. However some peoples theories are the opposite...starting with something like python and moving on to complex c++ later. I personally prefer the latter, but it is completely your choice.

I think python is the best choice for a first language. I started with c++ and moved to python, and now i do serious work in python and use c++ as my toy language. Mostly because it is too time consuming to write and maintain c++ as opposed to python.

saying its out of date

This, by the way, is complete rubbish. It sounds just like they are trying to manipulate you into ignoring python as a choice.

I am not a fan of Microsoft, thus i am not a fan of their language. So i have not yet done much in c#. People programming on Windows computers only and not caring about other platforms will use c#, VBscript , etc. You wont see many linux users programming in c#. Python is portable across all platforms.

EDIT:

python tends to be slow. in most cases it fast enough but i perfer more speed.

yes. As stracnac said, use python. The forced indentation makes the code easy to read, and if you are learning a first language, then the simplicity of the code should make it even easier. Here is an example.

The idea that Python is a toy starter language that people should learn on before switching to a "real" language pisses me off no end. We hear the exact same arguments made against Python that were made against C when it was first created. As processing speed continues to increase the difference becomes (and will continue to become even more so) absolutely irrelevant.

Also the same people that espouse the idea that python is a starter language are the professors that then try to get their students to program ADTs in Python that are completely unnatural for the language. If you want to teach C, teach C; if you want to teach Python, you better actually know Python.